Rotary internal combustion engine



Aug. 19, 1941. E. SHUFELDT 2,253,445

ROTARY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed July 11, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 11372710218 3511/ eZdt av myrmrea.

ATTORNEYS 1941. E. SHUFELDT I ROTARY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE FiledJuly '11, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'w aw aa ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 19,1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROTARY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINEEnrique Shufeldt, La Cueva, N. Mex.

Application July 11, 1940, Serial No. 344,974

I 1 Claim.

This invention relates to rotary internal combustion engines and has foran object to provide a simplified engine which will be devoid of valves,which will have four power impulses to each revolution of the shaft andwhich will simultaneously exhaust the burned gas, draw in fresh gas andcompress the charge during the power impulse.

A further object is to provide an engine having impeller bladestravelling in a planetary path around a globular portion of the shaftand having respective pins engaged in segmental grooves ninety degreesapart in the globular portion, the pins travelling at an angle to thedirection of the grooves and having reciprocatory motion from end to endof respective grooves to impart rotary motion to the shaft.

A further object is to provide apparatus of this character which will beformed of a few strong, simple and durable parts, which will beinexpensive to manufacture, and which will not easily get out of order.

-With the above and other objects in view the invention consists ofcertain novel details of construction and combinations of partshereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood thatvarious modifications may be resorted to within the scope of theappended claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any' ofthe advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a rotary internal combustion engineconstructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the engine with the top of the impellerremoved to expose the impeller rings and blades of the-globular portionof the shaft.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the two independently movableimpeller rings separated from each other.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the shaft, grooved globulardriving portion of the shaft, impeller rings and blades assembled withthe globular portion of the shaft.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the invention taken on theline 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a plan view similar to Figure 2 but showing the impellerblades in a different position of their relative movement.

Figure 7 is a front elevation of one of the rings and its blades.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view showing the intake position of theblades.

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view showing the A compression position ofthe blades.

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic view showing the Referring now to thedrawings in which likecharacters of reference designate similar parts inthe various views, the engine comprises a globular casing I'll having anannular housing H arranged in surrounding relation to the casing. A pairof shaft bearings l2 extend in alined position from the casing I0 andthe housing ii is inclined relatively to the bearings in a planeintersecting the axis of the bearings and the casing at approximately30, as best shown in Figure 1. The housing is formed of twosectionsconnected together by bolts l3, one of the bearings I2, the uppersection of the housing, and the upper part of the casing are formed as aunit. Also the lower section of the housing, the lower part of thecasing and the other bearing are formed as a unit.

Rotatably mounted in the casing is a hollow metal ball l4, shown best inFigure 4, having sockets l5, best shown in Figure 5, to receive thesquared ends of alined sections of the engine shaft a the impeller ring2|.

IS. The sections of the shaft extend through the bearings l2 and thelatter may be mounted on any type of a support desired.

The metal ball ll forms a globular portion of the engine shaft 16 andnicely fits within the globular housing Ill. The globular portion \ll ofthe shaft is provided in the present embodiment of the invention withfour segmental grooves l1, l8, I9 and 20, best shown in Figure 4. Thegrooves are arranged at an angular advance of from each other andterminate short of the shaft l6 at what may be termed the poles of theglobular portion Id at its connection with the shaft.

Impeller rings 2| and 22, best shown in separated condition in Figure 3,are disposed in superposed axially alined position to ride one upon theother at different speeds. The ring 2| is provided with diametricallyoppositely dis: posed impeller blades 23 which are offset as shown at 24in Figure 7 to receive the companion ring 22 while the latter isprovided at diametrically opposite points with impeller blades 25 whichare offset as shown at 26 in Figure 3 to receive Thus the blades of onering overlap the other ring and the blades of both rings are of suchcontour as to snugly fit in the housing II, which latter is analogous tothe cylinder of an engine.

The housing II is provided with an exhaust pipe 21, best shown in Figure2, and is also provided with an intake pipe 28, these pipes entering thehousing i I on opposite sides of a vertical plane passing through theaxis of the shaft IS. The intake pipe is connected to a carburetor 29,as best shown in Figure 1.

The impeller ring 2| is provided with pins 30 and 3!, best shown inFigure 3, projecting interiorly of the ring at the impeller blades 23.Likewise, the impeller ring 22 isprovided with pins 32 and 33 whichproject interiorly of the ring at the blades 25. The pins of the ring 25are offset as shown at 84 in Figure 3 while the pins of the ring 22amoffsetas shown at 35. These offsets permit the pins and blades tooscillate in the same plane, while the rings oscillate in parallelplanes etrical to the plane of the pins and piston blades at difierentspeeds to turn th shaft as'will now be described.

As clearly shown in Figure 4 the pins 36 and ill of the impeller ring 2iride respectively in the diametrically disposed grooves ill and iii ofthe glubular portion 86 of the shaft. The pins 32 and 33 of the impellerring 22 ride respectively in the diametrically opposite grooves l9 and26 of the globular portion of the shaft.

The power stroke of ignited gas causes the pins to travel in the housingii at an angle to the direction of the grooves from end to end of re-=There ar four power impulses to each cycle,

the compressed gas being fired by a spark plug 38 connected by a wireill to a magneto 38 which is mounted on one of the bearings l2 and isgeared to the fiy=wheel section it of the shaft as shown at 39 in Figurei.

In the diagrammatic Figures 8, 9, l0 and 11, for the purpose of moreclearly explaining the operation, the two blades 25 of on ring have beendistinguished by priming one blade, and also the two blades 23 of theother ring have been dist M by priming one of the blades.

Figure 8 shows fresh gas being drawn into the housing between the blade23' and the blade 25, while gas is being compressed between the blade 25and the blade 23. I

Figure 9 shows the compressed gas between the blades 25 and 23 beingfired, while the fresh gas supply between the blades 23' and 25 is readyto be compressed since the blade 23' is travelling faster than the blade25.

As shown in Figure 10, the ignited gas between the blade 25 and blade 23is shown furnishing the power stroke since the blade 23 is movin fasterthan the blade 25. At the sam time, the blade 23' is moving faster thanthe blade 25 and is compressing the charge which is shown ready to becompressed in Figure 9. At the same time, since the blade 22' is movingfaster than the blade 25', a fresh charge is being drawn into thehousing between th blades 23'-and 25'.

As shown in Figure 11, the spent gas after furnishing the power strokeand driving the blades 23 and 23' faster than the blades 25 and 25', isabout to be expelled from the casing, while at the same time acompressed charge is ready to be fired between the blades 23' and 25 anda fresh charge ready for compression erdsts in the housing betweenblades 23' and 25'. During exhaus initial angular advance of 180,duringthe time period the blade moves from left to right in the annularhousing, then the pin reaches the end of its groove and reverses itsdirection to guide the blade from right to left diagonally upward in theannular housing to turn the globular portion of the shaft through thesecond 180 angular ad= Vance. The impeller rings oscillate upon eachother at varying speeds during a complete cycle of the globular portionof the shaft. The variation of oscillatory speed of both impeller ringsand consequently the relative variation of the speed of the respectiveblades of the rings produce the power, exhaust, intake and compressionof the spent gases, the compressed charge is fired to initiate the nextsucceeding cycle course around the globular portion ll of the shaft. Therespecpositions of the blades and is caused by the grooves being ,closetogether at the poles of the globular portion of the shaft and wideapart at the central circumference, or equator as it may betermed, ofthe globular portion of the shaft.

From the above description it is thought that the construction andoperation of the invention will be fully understood without furtherexplanation. 1

What is claimed is:

An engine including a globular casing, an annular housing arranged insurrounding relation on the casing, a pair of alined shaft bearingsextending from the casing and the housing, the

housing being inclined relatively to the axis of the bearings at anangle, a shaft having cylindrical portions disposed in said bearings andhaving a globular intermediate portion disposed in said casing andhousing, said globular portion being provided with segmental groovesspaced uniformly from each other at the central circumference of theglobular portion and converging toward and terminating short of thepoles at the junction of the globular portion with the cylindricalportions of the shaft, a pair of axially alined impeller ringssuperposed upon each other in surrounding relation on said globularportion, impeller blades disposed at diametrically opposite points ofeach ring fitting in the housing, pins projecting radially inward fromeach ring at the blades of the ring slidably engaged in respectivegrooves of the globular portion, exhaust and fuel inlet pipes connectedto said housing on opposite sides of one cylindrical portion ,of theshaft, a spark plug connected to the housing at a point substantiallydiametrically opposit a point midway between the intake and exhaustpipes, and means for energizing the spark plug, the

arrangement being such that each explosion starts one of the bladesdownward in the annular housing on a'planetary course around theglobular portion of the shaft, the respective pin of said blade firsttravelling in its respective groove to force the shaft to rotat axiallythrough an initial angular advance of then reversing its direction inthe groove to force the shaft through compression positions during eachrevolution of the globular portion of the shaft.

pNRIQUE snur'mn'r. I

